PRESS RELEASE
Star power, big-budget spectacle and iconic Australian landscapes will vie with reflective social narrative from emerging talent to take home Australia’s most prestigious screen directing awards next week.
Legendary director George Miller is in the running for the top prize in the 2024 Australian Directors’ Guild Awards, with his Mad Max prequel Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga nominated for Best Direction of a Feature Film (Budget $1.5M or over).
Robert Connolly, another global success story renowned for putting Australia’s distinctive landscapes front and centre in his films, is nominated in the same category for Force of Nature, a sequel to box office hit The Dry. Alyssa McClelland’s work on one of Netflix’s most successful series, Sex Education, acclaimed for its exploration of adolescent sexuality, relationships and identity, is among four nominees for Best Direction of a Comedy Series Episode.
Winners of the 19 categories in the 2024 Australian Directors’ Guild Awards will be announced at a star- studded ceremony in Melbourne on 22 November. The awards recognise outstanding directing in everything from online series and children’s TV drama to music video, animation or feature film. They are the only peer-judged directing awards in Australia.
This year saw record entries for Best Direction of a Drama Series Episode, with judges noting the superior standard of directing in the category as well as the inclusion of shows distributed across all platforms, from traditional live broadcasting to fully interactive, on-demand, and internet-based options.
Emma Freeman’s directing on episode 5 of Fake, an eight-part drama-thriller inspired by Australian journalist Stephanie Wood’s memoir delving into themes of deception, trust and the complexities of modern relationships, is among five nominations in the Drama Series Episode category.
Best Direction of a Children’s Series Episode saw a 75% increase in entries on 2023, with a strong combination of live action, animation, reality and experimental work. Nominations for Best Direction of a Documentary Feature had a third more entries than both of the Feature Film categories combined.
“The quality was extremely high across the board for all documentary categories, with quite a few directors switching between drama and documentary,” Australian Directors’ Guild Executive Director Sophie Harper said.
Those shortlisted for Best Direction of a Documentary Feature include Gracie Otto’s Otto by Otto which explores her family’s performing arts legacy and Frances Elliott and Samantha Marlowe’s Renee Gracie:
Fireproof, which documents the story of the former Supercars driver who controversially reinvented herself as an adult online content creator.
Breakthrough South Australian directors Indianna Bell and Josiah Allen are among four nominees for Best Direction of a Debut Feature for their psychological horror thriller You’ll Never Find Me, alongside Natalie Bailey’s biographical drama, Audrey.
The horror/mystery genre stood out this year, with short and long-form entries across all film and television categories, including children’s and documentary, while the two online categories combined saw a 63% increase in entries on last year.
“It’s fantastic to see directors from around Australia finding commercial and critical success, whether it’s a continuation of George Miller’s incredible legacy with the latest Mad Max movie, or Robert Connolly’s films that take rural Australian stories to the world,” said Ms Harper.
“There are an extraordinary number of Australian directors working on some of the biggest shows in the US and the UK and what’s really exciting is to see the exceptional entries both from those established directors and from up-and-coming Australian directors, exploring worlds and perspectives we’ve rarely seen.”
Australian Directors’ Guild President Rowan Woods said the mix of well-known and emerging directors and the diversity of subject matter among this year’s nominees demonstrates how Australian directors are making their mark not just locally but internationally by telling singular stories that resonate with and move people.
“Being willing to push boundaries, to innovate and to challenge norms means Australian directors will continue to shape the narrative of what constitutes excellence in filmmaking long into the future. I congratulate each of our nominees and wish them every success in next week’s awards,” Mr Woods said.
The full list of nominations for the awards can be found here.
Tickets to the Australian Directors Guild Awards, to be held at The Astor Theatre, St Kilda from 5pm on Friday 22 November are on sale now.
FULL LIST OF NOMINEES 2024 ADG AWARDS
The Esben Storm Award for Best Direction of a Children’s Series Episode
Sarah Hickey Crazy Fun Park S1 E4 – Remember Me
Craig Irvin The Spooky Files S1 E5 – Welcome to Lake Tranquillity
Rosemary Myers Beep and Mort S2 E2 – Today! The Musical
Sian Davies Surviving Summer S2 E1 – Selection
Nina Buxton Planet Lulin S1 E7 – Hair Raiser
Best Direction of a Comedy Series Episode
Robyn Butler & Wayne Hope Colin From Accounts S2 E5 – Waterfall
Helena Brooks Population: 11 S1 E10 – Like Father, Like Son
Trent O’Donnell Population: 11 S1 E1 – Outback UFO Tours
Alyssa McClelland Sex Education S4 E6
Best Direction of Online Shortform
Nash Edgerton Far Enough – Vote Yes
Ryan Cauchi Greystanes – Chapter 09
Jemma Cotter I’m So Sorry For Your Loss S1 E3 – Dead Ringer
Kaius Potter Fluff – Before The Mirror
Jesse Vogelaar Ruby Rai P.I. S1 E2 – Gobbo & Chi Chi
Best Direction of Online Longform
Liam Fitzgibbon Descent S1 E4 – Get Busy Livin’ or Get Busy Eel
Jessica Smith Videoland S1 E1 & E2
Aimée-Lee Xu Hsien Pleasant Avenue S1 E2 – Mr Masala
Monique Terry and Abby Gallaway Touch S1
Joanna Beveridge Shippers S1 E7 – O K-Drama
Best Direction of an Interactive or Immersive Project
Simon Croker and Rosie Pavlovic David’s Dead!!
Logan Mucha A Beat To Hold Back The Dawn
Ben Joseph Andrews and Emma Roberts Turbulence: Jamais Vu
Best Direction of a Music Video
James Chappell Stephen Sanchez: Baby Blue Bathing Suit
Mick Soiza Semiiré: Decisions
Kyle Caulfield Allday, Cubsport: Miss You Still
Cameron Zayec Witchgrinder: Queen of Sin
Best Direction of Commercial Content
Sarah Hickey Monster & Bear: The Perfect Brief
Tony Walsh Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute: To Keep A Heart Beating
Tony Walsh NRL: Dolphin Smart!
Hossein Khodabandehloo Public Transport Victoria: Hi Vis Humanity – Transport Workers are People Too
Best Direction of a Commercial Advertisement
Michael Spiccia Amazon Prime: Concrete Jungle
Tim Bullock AAMI: Athletes In The Making
Sarah Hickey FIFA Women’s World Cup Trailer 2023
Aislinn Lowe Google: Meet Google Demand Gen
Tom Noakes Apple: Swoop
Best Direction of a Student Film
Lucien Perry Hiraeth
Isabella Andronos Under the Water
Lotte Sweeney Bottleneck
Chloe Kemp Say
Veniamin Gialouris Gorgo
Best Direction of a Short Film
Nick Russell Favourites
Lucy Coleman Lean In
Will Suen and Sejon Im Sweet Juices
Annelise Hickey Hafekasi
Nick Lacey and Nathan Lacey Die Bully Die
Best Direction of an Animation
Alexs Stadermann 200% Wolf
Tania Vincent and Ricard Cussó The Sloth Lane
Best Direction of a Short Documentary
Gianna Mazzeo The History of the Carabiner
Brietta Hague Compass S39 E10 – Not In My Name
Patrick Abboud Gayrabia
Ella Wright Tee Ken Ng
Best Direction of a Documentary Series Episode or One-Off
Emma Watts Last Chance To Save A Life
Nel Minchin The Way We Wore S1 E1 – The Media
Serge Ou RUNN
Best Direction of a Drama Series Episode
Jeffrey Walker The Artful Dodger S1 E8 – Untapped Potential
Fadia Abboud House of Gods S1 E5 – Lament
Adam Murfet and Jessie Oldfield Heartbreak High S2 E8 – Boys Don’t Cry
Leticia Cáceres Erotic Stories S1 E1 – Philia
Emma Freeman Fake S1 E5
Best Direction of a Miniseries Episode
Peter Salmon After The Party S1
Bonnie Moir Exposure S1 E5
Glendyn Ivin The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart S1 E1 – Black Fire Orchid
Tig Terera Swift Street S1 E1 – Thank You Elsie
Bharat Nalluri Boy Swallows Universe S1 E1 – Boy Smells Rat
Best Direction of a Debut Feature
Haydn Butler Home Kills
Indianna Bell and Josiah Allen You’ll Never Find Me
Daniel Fenech The Blind Sea
Natalie Bailey Audrey
Best Direction of a Documentary Feature
Frances Elliott and Samantha Marlowe Renee Gracie: Fireproof
Jenny Hicks Dale Frank – Nobody’s Sweetie
James Bradley Welcome to Babel
Gracie Otto Otto by Otto
Best Direction of a Feature Film (Budget under $1.5 M)
Haydn Butler Home Kills
Indianna Bell and Josiah Allen You’ll Never Find Me
Dane McCusker The Big Dog
Timothy Despina Marshall In the Room Where He Waits
Best Direction of a Feature Film (Budget $1.5 M or over)
Paul Middleditch & Hamish Bennett Uproar
Robert Connolly Force of Nature
George Miller Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Kyle Portbury The Hopeful
